DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.4592#0059
SANDS OF THE DESERT. 59
one large pelican of the Desert. This was the first
living species of that bird I had ever seen.
Our boat was kept running all night before a good
breeze. This was fortunate, for the next morning
the breeze entirely died away. The sun shone hot
and the day was as warm as June in New England.
About 11 o'clock, A. M., we lay to just above a large
village called Zonitrazin. The rais of our boat had
stopped at this village to procure, as he said, bread
for the boatmen. After waiting two hours for him,
the boat proceeded on, leaving him to come when he
got ready. As we had no wind, the men were com-
pelled to tow. The progress thus made, is not to
exceed a mile and a half an hour. The men how-
ever, had worked faithfully four hours, and no rais
had come yet. They had eaten nothing since morn-
ing, and four of them declared they would proceed
no further, but would leave the boat and go for some-
thing to eat. We were then not near any village-
On learning our situation, through Selim, we requested
him to say to the men, if they would proceed with
the boat, we would buy them bread at the next vil-
lage. This soon brought them on board. The wind
was rising, our sails were set, and we proceeded on.
During this day, as we advanced up the Nile, the
vale on the west, or Lybian side, became narrow.
Beyond it the yellow sands of the Desert lay spread
to view as far as the eye could stretch. Towards
night we passed in sight of a camp of Bedoin Arabs.
These were the first that I had ever seen of that
wandering class of barbarians, and little did I then
suppose that such were soon to be my guides and